Web-based social networking applications, such as, Facebook™, MySpace™, and LinkedIn™, have been enjoying growing popularity ever since their inception. These applications are typically operated as managed services by application service providers and share several common characteristics. For instance, users typically create unique personal profiles using their email addresses or other login information that include basic information about the users. Users typically map their relationship with other members by either inviting other members join their network or by using software to scan existing relationships. Typically, connections between the users are facilitated by sending messages, such as emails, to other users. Users of conventional, Web-based social networking applications are typically avid Internet users or specific groups of professionals because keeping the information and connections current requires considerable effort on the part of the user and thus appeals mainly to dedicated users with sufficient technical experience.
Mobile social networking applications, such as Dodgeball™ and MobiVibe™, are applications for providing such functions as, friend-finding, text-dating and community message aggregation. Conventional mobile social networking applications do not provide the same type of social networking capabilities as the Web-based social networking applications, and are thus relatively limited in their capabilities.